Eight area lawmakers score perfect on first 100 votes

Serving in N.H.'s 'citizen's legislature' a part-time job

Serving in the New Hampshire Legislature is a part-time job. Often it's been called the "citizen's legislature," because House and Senate members receive only $100 a year, plus mileage which pays for wear and tear on their cars and the changing cost of gasoline.

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By Jim Splaine

seacoastonline.com

By Jim Splaine

Posted Apr. 7, 2013 at 2:00 AM

By Jim Splaine
Posted Apr. 7, 2013 at 2:00 AM

» Social News

Serving in the New Hampshire Legislature is a part-time job. Often it's been called the "citizen's legislature," because House and Senate members receive only $100 a year, plus mileage which pays for wear and tear on their cars and the changing cost of gasoline.

Beyond that, they receive legislative license plates, for which they have to pay $9 extra in addition to regular fees. Those plates allow them to avoid highway tolls.

Elected every two years, the Legislature meets from January to June. The workload includes upwards of a thousand bills, plus crafting and voting on the budget. Most of the 400 House members serve on one of nearly two dozen committees that hold hearings, sometimes lasting several hours, on each bill referred to it. The Senate's 24 members usually serve on two or more committees. Committees make recommendations on all bills, and unlike the governing bodies of many other states, every bill must go to the floor for debate, which could also be lengthy.

In addition, House members serve on county delegations, requiring additional work and meetings on the annual budgets that allocate money for jails, nursing homes and county attorney and sheriff departments.

From this January through March, according to the House Clerk's office, 100 roll calls have been held during 13 official legislative days. Three of those days were for duties such as the governor's inauguration, during which no roll calls were held. This analysis includes reviewing area legislators as they voted on those motions.

Roll calls are not recorded for all motions. Most are approved or disapproved by "voice vote," where the loudness of the vote often determines approval or disapproval. Some votes are taken by an automated tally as members push a button at their seat indicating "yes" or "no." But on especially controversial or potentially close votes, members may request a roll call to associate names with actual positions, for public accountability.

In this review, if a legislator voted "yes" or "no" on all motions put to roll call, that legislator has a 100 percent rating. The numbers of missed votes is given for those not receiving a perfect voting rating. "Excused" means the member informed the House Clerk's Office and asked to be excused due to important business or illness. "Not excused" indicates the member did not make that request, but missed a vote.

House Speaker Terie Norelli, D-Portsmouth, when she is presiding does not, under the rules, have to vote except to make or break a tie. On House Bill 325, "relative to public employee suggestions for cost-saving measures, she voted to make a 179 to 179 tie. The bill was approved on a follow-up motion and is in the Senate. She did not vote on another nine votes for which she was "excused." When not presiding she assigns a temporary presiding officer.

The Senate has met eight times, with 31 roll calls. Sens. Martha Fuller Clark, D-Portsmouth, Nancy Stiles, R-Hampton, and Russell Prescott, R-Kingston, have a 100 percent voting record. Members are allowed to indicate a possible "conflict of interest" and not vote for or against a bill. Prescott did so on Senate Bill 167, "relative to groundwater," which was killed 22 to 1.

In addition to illness there are numerous reasons why members are absent from votes. Sometimes legislators are late in arriving, and miss a vote early in the session day. Or they have family or business obligations and must leave early, missing votes held later in the day. With many legislative meetings beginning at 9 a.m. and sessions going until late in the afternoon, not all members can be in attendance.

Once a motion is put to a vote, those members not in the chamber at that moment cannot re-enter, and thus may be listed as "not excused" because they were attending to other business, meeting visiting constituents, or attending meetings outside of the chamber. In addition, some members have leadership roles, and often are in meetings in other parts of the Statehouse, or working on legislation. It is frequent that the Senate and House do not meet at the same time, and hearings may be held on legislation at the same hour that votes are taken, causing legislators who need to testify before the other body to miss being in attendance for a roll call in their own chamber.